The gold-plated doors slid open, and Maya Sterling, the 28-year-old VP of Operations, stepped out. She was mid-conversation on her phone, holding a stack of legal folders. She looked up, annoyed by the commotion, only to freeze dead in her tracks. The folders slipped from her hands, scattering confidential documents across the marble floor.
"Dad?!" Maya screamed, dropping her phone. She sprinted across the lobby, her heels clicking frantically against the stone.
Braddock stepped in front of Marcus, holding his hand up like a traffic cop. "Ma'am, step back! This is a secured area, and this individual is under citizen's arrest for trespassing and resisting."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Maya shoved Braddock's arm away, her eyes blazing with a mix of terror and absolute fury. She looked at her father, seeing the tight metal biting into his wrists, the coffee stain on his hoodie, the cracked tablet on the floor. "Take those off him right now. Take them off!"
Braddock sneered, looking Maya up and down. She was dressed in weekend casual—jeans and a sweater—having just run down from the 42nd floor to grab a document she left in her car. "Listen, lady, I don't know if this guy is your dealer or your crazy uncle, but if you don't back up, you're going in cuffs next for interfering with building security."